By Thad Angelloz
Published: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, November 14, 2008 at 5:04 p.m.
In one second Houma native Brittany Guidry went from normal every day teen to a national beauty contestant.
The 15-year-old Vandebilt Catholic High School sophomore was crowned Miss Louisiana Teen USA at the annual state wide pageant in front of a packed house Nov. 1 at Lafayette's Heymann Performing Arts Theatre.
"It was amazing," Guidry said. "I don't know how else to describe it. I was in total shock for a long time."
While winning the crown left Guidry temporarily speechless, she said the honor didn't come without its fair share of sacrifice and work.
The active teen - who now becomes the first young woman from Terrebonne Parish to ever become Miss Louisiana Teen USA, according to Brittany's mother, Vickie, who said she was told by pageant officials - stays busy constantly.
Along with performing her duties as Miss Teen Lafayette the past year, Guidry played several sports and was involved in countless other extra-curricular activities.
She did all this while training diligently for Miss Louisiana Teen USA.
"I would work with my pageant coach on the weekends and be right back at school on Monday," Guidry said. "It's hard to balance everything in my life, and I couldn't do it without my mom there beside me."
Brittany's mother said she was amazed by the effort her daughter put forth to pursue the crown.
"She's always been a full-speed-ahead-type of person," she said. "She really went after this and set her mind to do it both from a mental and physical standpoint. Something I really want to get out there is she did it in a healthy way. She didn't starve herself. What she did do is learn a lot about nutrition and chose to eat healthy foods along with getting a lot of exercise. We've (Vickie and her husband Craig) have always been proud of Brittany because she's done things the right way."
Competing against 30 other girls proved daunting to Guidry, but one thing the Houma girl had on her side was winning genetics.
It was only last year she saw her cousin, Michelle Berthelot, win the Miss Louisiana USA crown.
Guidry said what made her win special was an unfortunate incident that led to a unique opportunity.
In late October, the reigning Miss Louisiana Teen USA, Lindsay Evans, was arrested on charges of leaving a restaurant without paying and possession marijuana.
After having to surrender her crown and sash, rules dictated the outgoing Miss Louisiana would crown the 2009 Miss Louisiana Teen USA winner in Evans' place.
That meant Berthelot was able to share Guidry's exciting moment with her on stage.
"We've gotten so much closer over the last year or so," Guidry said. "To have her crown me was something I'll never forget. She's someone I look up to and admire. I was hoping I could win, so I could see her up there."
Although she always had the dedication and desire to become Miss Louisiana Teen USA, that spark grew even stronger after watching her cousin, Berthelot, compete in April's Miss USA Pageant.
"I feel like I had enough motivation to do it without that, but it definitely triggered something in me after seeing her speak and do all the other things she did with her crown," Guidry said.
After defeating a field of tough competitors, Guidry is excited about the community-service opportunities she will now have as a crown holder.
Along with receiving many gifts like a full scholarship to Northwestern State University, Guidry will get the chance to visit local schools.
Guidry said her platform is "setting goals and making the right decisions so you can get where you want to be.
"I really love working with younger kids," she said. "I want to do a lot of things in my hometown and continue to work with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I also want to lend my services to Susan G. Coleman and CASA for Kids."
Paula Miles, president of RPM Productions, the production company that sponsors the Miss Louisiana and Miss Louisiana Teen USA contests, said she looks forward to getting to meet Guidry further in the coming weeks.
"We're thrilled about her winning the crown," Miles said. "In my brief time spent with her she definitely is a delightful and friendly person. I'm sure she will be a great representative of the crown for the state of Louisiana."
After taking a brief break from her training regiment leading up to Miss Louisiana Teen USA, Guidry will now begin setting her sights on the 2009 Miss Teen USA Pageant in August.
"I'm going to try and do as much as I can with my current crown," Guidry said. "At the same time, I will work toward my next goal, which is Miss Teen USA."
Back row: Lacey Minchew (Miss Louisiana USA 2009), Brittany Guidry (Miss Louisiana Teen USA 2009), Kaity Rodriguez (Miss New Jersey USA 2009), ?, Allison Kusenberger (Miss Arkansas Teen USA 2009), Alexis Rewalt (Miss Kansas Teen USA 2009), Anastagia Pierre (Miss Florida USA 2009), Kelli Harral (Miss Texas Teen USA 2009), Amberly Messier (1st runner-up, Miss Rhode Island Teen USA 2009), Jessica Nolin (Miss Alaska USA 2009), Stephanie Smith (Miss South Carolina USA 2009)
Back row: Alexis Rewalt (Miss Kansas Teen USA 2009) - left; Anastagia Pierre (Miss Florida USA 2009) - right